5 Reasons You Need a Heat Pump vs. a Furnace

If you’re in the market for a new heating system for your home, one of the biggest choices you’ll have to make is whether you want to invest in a heat pump or a furnace. While furnaces are the most common option, heat pumps are can also be a good heating system in many parts of North Carolina. Since both options have different benefits, you’ll need to know how the two systems differ and the top five reasons why you might want to pick one or the other.

What Is a Furnace?

Furnaces are a more typical heating system that uses fuel, such as oil, propane, or natural gas, to heat your home. These systems use an electronic ignition or pilot light to burn fuel and generate heat. After generating the heat, the furnace sends it through your home via ducts.

What Is a Heat Pump?

Unlike a furnace, a heat pump doesn’t require fuel to heat your home and doesn’t generate heat. Instead, heat pumps use electricity to transfer warm air from the outdoors to the interior of your home by extracting heat from the air or ground. Besides warming your home, heat pumps can cool your home by moving heat in your home to the outdoors.

5 Reasons You May Want a Heat Pump or a Furnace

Heat pumps and furnaces have different advantages that make them more suitable for different homeowners. Find out more about the five major reasons you might want a heat pump or furnace below:

1. You’re Interested in Greater Energy Efficiency

If you want your heating system to use energy as efficiently as possible and reduce your environmental footprint, heat pumps have the edge over furnaces. Since these heat pumps run on electricity rather than gas and only transfer heat, they’re a greener option and tend to use less energy. However, furnaces can have better energy efficiency in a colder climate, as heat pumps can struggle to efficiently warm a home when they’re used in particularly cold temperatures.

2. You Live in a Colder or Warmer Climate

One main drawback of heat pumps is that they can struggle to heat a home if they’re used in an especially cold climate. While heat pumps can still heat a home when temperatures drop below freezing, they’ll start to become more inefficient the colder it gets outside. As a result, heat pumps are normally only used for homes located in areas with warmer climates.

The U.S.’s climate zones 1-3 (which includes eastern North Carolina) are best suited for heat pumps. In contrast, those who live in climate zones 4-7 will usually want to stick to a furnace. Since a furnace uses fuel, colder temperatures won’t affect it, allowing it to efficiently heat your home. The one exception to furnaces being better than heat pumps in cold climates is geothermal heat pumps, as these heat pumps draw from a stable source of warm, underground air throughout the winter.

3. You’re Looking for a Heating System With a Long Lifespan

If you’re looking for a heating system that lasts a long time, a furnace has a slight edge. Typically, heat pumps last around 15 years before they need a replacement, while furnaces can last over 20 years if properly maintained. The longer lifespan of furnaces often comes down to them being used less than heat pumps. Since heat pumps can also cool a home, they’re often run year-round, while furnaces only operate for a few months a year. Additionally, furnaces often have fewer parts, reducing the chance of breakdowns.

4. You Want a More Flexible System

If you want a flexible system, heat pumps are the better choice. Furnaces can only deliver heat, meaning they’re only useful when it’s cold outside. Unlike furnaces, a heat pump can also serve as an air conditioner. When it’s hot outside, you can simply turn a reversing valve on your heat pump, and it will remove heat from your home. Due to a heat pump’s ability to heat and cool a home, it’s a much more flexible system than a furnace.

5. You’re on a Budget

Deciding between a heat pump or a furnace based on cost can be tricky, as a few different factors can affect their cost. For example, if you live in a home with a natural gas line already installed, a furnace will likely be cheaper to install. In contrast, a heat pump is usually less expensive when you don’t have a natural gas line.

Another factor to consider is that standard heat pumps usually have more affordable upfront costs than furnaces. However, if you want a geothermal heat pump, you’ll pay much more than a standard furnace due to the excavation and amount of work required to install it. Additionally, heat pumps tend to be more cost-effective in the long term, as they use energy more efficiently, don’t require fuel, and can be used as an air conditioner.

Choose Newcomb and Company for Furnace or Heat Pump Installation in Raleigh

When you need a new furnace or heat pump in Raleigh, North Carolina, turn to Newcomb and Company. Our team of experts will inspect your home and give you recommendations on whether a furnace, geothermal heat pump, or standard heat pump installation is right for you. Besides installing new systems, we can also provide heater repairs and annual heater maintenance to ensure you receive the best performance out of your heating system year-round.